IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/pubfin/v48y2020i2p178-211.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dimensions of Ethnic Diversity and Underground Economic Activity: Cross-country Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Aziz N. Berdiev
  • Rajeev K. Goel
  • James W. Saunoris

Abstract

Cultural and ethnic factors crucially affect economic agents’ propensities toward law-abiding behavior and operating in the underground economy is an important, widely prevalent, aspect. However, there are many dimensions of ethnic diversity, and the relative influences of each on underground behavior are not well articulated. This article uniquely considers the effects of five dimensions of ethnic/cultural diversity, including ethnic income inequality, ethnic–linguistic fragmentation, cultural fragmentation, ethnolinguistic polarization, and ethnic–linguistic segregation, on the international shadow economy. Placing the empirical analysis in the context of the empirical determinants of the shadow economy, results show income inequality across ethnic groups increases underground activity across different modeling variations, while the effects of the other dimensions are statistically insignificant. This unique finding underscores the notion that not all dimensions of ethnic diversity are alike when it comes to their influences on the informal sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Aziz N. Berdiev & Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2020. "Dimensions of Ethnic Diversity and Underground Economic Activity: Cross-country Evidence," Public Finance Review, , vol. 48(2), pages 178-211, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:48:y:2020:i:2:p:178-211
    DOI: 10.1177/1091142120901501
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1091142120901501
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1091142120901501?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Johnson, Simon & Kaufmann, Daniel & McMillan, John & Woodruff, Christopher, 2000. "Why do firms hide? Bribes and unofficial activity after communism," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 495-520, June.
    2. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Maria Rebecca Valenzuela, 2019. "Determinants of firm performance: does ethnic diversity matter?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 2079-2105, December.
    3. Torgler, Benno & Schneider, Friedrich, 2009. "The impact of tax morale and institutional quality on the shadow economy," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 228-245, April.
    4. Andreas P. Kyriacou, 2013. "Ethnic Group Inequalities and Governance: Evidence from Developing Countries," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(1), pages 78-101, February.
    5. De Luca, Giacomo & Hodler, Roland & Raschky, Paul A. & Valsecchi, Michele, 2018. "Ethnic favoritism: An axiom of politics?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 115-129.
    6. Gerring, John & Thacker, Strom C. & Lu, Yuan & Huang, Wei, 2015. "Does Diversity Impair Human Development? A Multi-Level Test of the Diversity Debit Hypothesis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 166-188.
    7. Friedman, Eric & Johnson, Simon & Kaufmann, Daniel & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 2000. "Dodging the grabbing hand: the determinants of unofficial activity in 69 countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 459-493, June.
    8. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1995. "Institutions And Economic Performance: Cross‐Country Tests Using Alternative Institutional Measures," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(3), pages 207-227, November.
    9. Alesina, Alberto & La Ferrara, Eliana, 2002. "Who trusts others?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 207-234, August.
    10. World Bank, 2007. "World Development Indicators 2007," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 8150.
    11. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill, 2017. "Fractionalization, entrepreneurship, and the institutional environment for entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 577-597, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Owolabi, Adegboyega O. & Berdiev, Aziz N. & Saunoris, James W., 2022. "Is the shadow economy procyclical or countercyclical over the business cycle? International evidence," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 257-270.
    2. Aziz Berdiev & Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2020. "International Disease Epidemics and the Shadow Economy," CESifo Working Paper Series 8425, CESifo.
    3. Dada, James Temitope & Ajide, Folorunsho Monsur & Arnaut, Marina & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2024. "On the contributing factors to shadow economy in Africa: Do natural resources, ethnicity and religious diversity make any difference?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Aziz N. Berdiev & Brandon Gomes & James W. Saunoris, 2023. "Revisiting the nexus between globalisation and the shadow economy: Untying the influences of de jure versus de facto globalisation," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 27-54, January.
    5. Saunoris, James W., 2024. "Individualism, economic freedom, and the development of the shadow economy," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(1).
    6. Aziz N. Berdiev & Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2022. "Do disease epidemics force economic activity underground? International evidence," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(2), pages 263-282, April.
    7. Aziz N. Berdiev & James W. Saunoris, 2023. "The case for independence: Does central bank independence curb the spread of the underground economy?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(3), pages 407-435, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aziz N. Berdiev & James W. Saunoris, 2018. "Corruption and Entrepreneurship: Cross‐Country Evidence from Formal and Informal Sectors," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(3), pages 831-848, January.
    2. Silva,Joana C. G. & Morgandi,Matteo & Levin,Victoria, 2016. "Trust in government and support for redistribution," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7675, The World Bank.
    3. Robert Gillanders & Sinikka Parviainen, 2018. "Corruption and the shadow economy at the regional level," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 1729-1743, November.
    4. Camila Henriquez Mora & James W. Saunoris, 2023. "Is there convergence amongst shadow economies? International evidence," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 82(1), pages 15-28, January.
    5. Aziz N. Berdiev & James W. Saunoris, 2020. "Cross‐Country Evidence Of Corruption Spillovers To Formal And Informal Entrepreneurship," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 48-66, January.
    6. Rajeev K. Goel & Michael A. Nelson, 2016. "Robust Determinants of the Shadow Economy: An International Comparison," CESifo Working Paper Series 5873, CESifo.
    7. Lisi, Gaetano, 2010. "Occupazione irregolare e disoccupazione in Italia: un’analisi panel regionale [Underground Employment and Unemployment in Italy: A Panel Analysis]," MPRA Paper 22508, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Berdiev, Aziz N. & Saunoris, James W., 2016. "Financial development and the shadow economy: A panel VAR analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 197-207.
    9. Lisi, Gaetano, 2009. "Il lavoro irregolare in Italia: un'analisi panel regionale [Underground Employment in the Regions of Italy: A Panel Analysis]," MPRA Paper 18525, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Psychoyios, Dimitrios & Missiou, Olympia & Dergiades, Theologos, 2021. "Energy based estimation of the shadow economy: The role of governance quality," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 797-808.
    11. Chemin, Matthieu, 2009. "The impact of the judiciary on entrepreneurship: Evaluation of Pakistan's "Access to Justice Programme"," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 114-125, February.
    12. Dada, James Temitope & Ajide, Folorunsho Monsur & Arnaut, Marina & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2024. "On the contributing factors to shadow economy in Africa: Do natural resources, ethnicity and religious diversity make any difference?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    13. Aziz N. Berdiev & James W. Saunoris & Friedrich Schneider, 2020. "Poverty and the shadow economy: The role of governmental institutions," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 921-947, April.
    14. Art Durnev & Vihang Errunza & Alexander Molchanov, 2009. "Property rights protection, corporate transparency, and growth," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(9), pages 1533-1562, December.
    15. Dan Andrews & Aida Caldera Sánchez & Åsa Johansson, 2011. "Towards a Better Understanding of the Informal Economy," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 873, OECD Publishing.
    16. Unbreen Qayyum & Sohail Anjum & Samina Sabir, 2020. "Religion and economic development: new insights," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 47(4), pages 793-834, November.
    17. Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2016. "Government Decentralization and Prevalence of the Shadow Economy," Public Finance Review, , vol. 44(2), pages 263-288, March.
    18. Fofack, Hippolyte, 2008. "Technology trap and poverty trap in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4582, The World Bank.
    19. Branimir Jovanovic, 2015. "Kalman Filter Estimation of the Unrecorded Economy in Macedonia," Working Papers 2015-02, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    20. Gerring, John & Thacker, Strom C. & Lu, Yuan & Huang, Wei, 2015. "Does Diversity Impair Human Development? A Multi-Level Test of the Diversity Debit Hypothesis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 166-188.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:48:y:2020:i:2:p:178-211. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.